


Sleepless Nights (WIP Title)

by orphan_account



Category: Hoshi no Kaabii | Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Kirby - All Media Types
Genre: Drama, Epic Battles, Fate & Destiny, Friendship, Gen, Growing Up, Post-Canon, Post-Time Skip, Psychological Horror, Slice of Life, Trust, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-28
Updated: 2015-02-17
Packaged: 2018-02-22 23:22:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2525483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ten years have passed since Nightmare's defeat, and Dream Land is finally enjoying a time of peace. Not even the king seems to be making mischief anymore. However, trouble is brewing on the horizon: Something is coming. Could Nightmare be returning already?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Medda Knigh’!” Kirby stood on the tips of his feet as he peered up into the bed. “Medda Kni-iii-iiii-iiiigh’!!”

Meta Knight shot up in bed, instinctively reaching across to where Galaxia was nearly always sheathed. He glared over at Kirby, then stuck his sword hand underneath his mask to rub his face. It’d been a long night of study. He probably hadn’t slept in so late in decades.

“Is there a problem?” he asked gruffly.

Kirby hesitated a moment before nodding. “I’m hung’y an’ nobody made breakfas’ yet!” His mouth curled into a tiny sad pout.

Kirby was always hungry. This was a problem, especially with making everybody who lived with him follow the same strict lifestyle.

“Do your exercises. After that we can talk about breakfast.” As Kirby wandered over to a corner of the room to start stretching, Meta Knight allowed himself to get lost in his thoughts.

It had been ten short years since Nightmare’s destruction at Kirby’s hands. Since then, Fumu had gone away to university and Bun had taken over Mosu the postman’s old job. Kirby, upon having no close friends to hang out with, and under the extremely un-watchful eye of Tokkori, had become a bit of a liability. At most hours of the day he wasn’t even allowed into his own house, and so he wandered around, usually getting himself into trouble over a meal or an unfortunate place to sleep. With no demon beasts left to fight, there really wasn’t anything else for him to do. Parm and Memu had taken him in for a few months, but Kirby had proven to be a bit too much of a handful at times, and having Kirby around constantly wasn’t good for Parm’s career. And so, somewhat begrudgingly, Meta Knight had taken Kirby into his care and was now training Kirby every day on how to become a more effective Star Warrior.  
Kirby was not a good student. Between his narrow attention span and his beyond massive appetite, it was a challenge to simply keep him on task. If he got bored for even a second, he was liable to space out and start dozing off. Speaking of… Meta Knight snapped back into the real world.

“Stretch high, bend left and right, and then squat down,” he instructed. Kirby was slacking again. Surprised, he looked over at his teacher and then nodded. He stretched up into a pinched oval, elastic enough that his hands just barely touched together over his head. As he started to lean, however, his stomach grumbled mutinously and he paused, distracted.

Meta Knight sighed. “That’s good enough for now. Go on down to the kitchen and ask the Waddle Dees for our usual breakfast.” Kirby nodded chipperly and ran out the door. Meta Knight settled back into his thoughts as Sword Knight closed the door.

Everything was peaceful, even the king, and yet Meta Knight suspected that something was amiss. Several times now he had caught Escargon looking cagey and suspicious, though there was never any evidence of what he might be doing. What King Dedede lacked in smarts, Dr. Escargon more than made up for. And with Nightmare gone for the first time in recorded history, it wouldn’t seem like he could be up to anything too dangerous. But still, he was a devoted servant of the king. Even if Dedede himself forgot about the orders he’d given minutes after, Escargon would make sure that they were fulfilled anyhow.

Dedede’s enmity for Kirby had fizzled out as soon as his access to demon beasts had. They were nothing more than rivals now, though even after years of being hounded and abused by His Majesty, Kirby was still unwilling or unable to hate him.

A knock at the door brought Meta Knight back to reality again. Sword opened it and Kirby came back in with a platter. He set it down on the main table as gently as he could and everyone gathered around to eat. Sword, Blade, and Meta Knight always took small simple meals, usually of rice, fish, and vegetables. Kirby had to follow this diet for every meal but breakfast, when Meta Knight allowed him two omelettes.

Kirby wasted no time in getting breakfast started. He picked up a fork and shoveled down his food like a stoker on a steam engine shoveled coal into a furnace, not chewing and only swallowing. After about a minute of solid eating, he finished. He sat up and looked over to the other end of the table.

“Can I go an’ poy-lay-- _play_ for a bit?” he asked hopefully.

“Fine, but be back by noon, when the sun is at its highest point. We’ll have our first lesson then.”

And with that, Kirby bolted out the door and down the corridor in a pink blur. Even the squeaky sound of his footsteps was quickly out of range of hearing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took a few months longer than originally anticipated, but Chapter 2 is done! Hopefully those of you who liked the story haven't forgotten about it by now... At any rate, enjoy!

“In order to fight like a Star Warrior, you first have to think like a Star Warrior.”

 Meta Knight stood in front of Kirby, a sword stuck in the earth separating the two.

 “You have been caught unarmed, though a weapon lies within your reach. You have only a few moments to choose what to do before the demon beast reaches close enough to decide for you. We begin.”

 As Meta Knight drew his sword crackling from its sheath, Kirby’s mouth began to open.

 “And no Copy Abilities.”

 Kirby sprang forward now, tugging at the sword with all of his might. It was larger than he was, and took all his strength to pull it from the ground. In the twelve years it had been since he first held it, he hadn’t grown an inch. Meta Knight ran forward and smacked him aside before he had a chance to steady himself, and he rolled across the dusty ground, cheek stinging but otherwise unhurt. He got to his feet now, brandishing the weapon in a way crudely copied from his teacher. He ran at Meta Knight, gripping the sword in both hands and preparing to give him a huge slap back. However, Meta Knight got there first again, and easily shoved him out of the way.

 “Wrong. You do not come at a creature with all your strength. If it was only might versus might, then the biggest would always win. Use your head.” Meta Knight paused for a moment before continuing with some rare praise. “You fight brilliantly when you have a Copy Ability, so I know you have the capability.” Kirby lied face down on the dusty ground, not responding. As Meta Knight poised himself to strike again, however, Kirby got up and spat a cloud of sand into his mask. Meta Knight was completely stunned by this, and Kirby took the opportunity to knock him backwards. With one hand underneath his mask and one tightly gripping Galaxia, Meta Knight had little way to steady himself and toppled over. Kirby stood in front of him, blade held defensively in case he should leap back up. Hesitantly, he pointed the tip of his blade towards the small amount of skin showing underneath Meta Knight’s mask. There was a quiet moment while Meta Knight realized his defeat. Kirby stared at him worriedly, but knew from experience that if he waivered, Meta Knight was going to end up smacking him again.

 Meta Knight finally got up again, pulling the bottom of his mask away slightly with a sigh. Grit leaked out of the gap, and his eyes glowed blue for an instant before shimmering green. Kirby could hear him spitting quietly before the mask was again secured tightly to his face. “A useful strategy,” he admitted, “though highly unorthodox. If you focused your attention on your limbs instead of your mouth, you could win fights without revealing your true nature.”

 Kirby frowned. “But Medda Knight, I fight my best when I get to copy stuff!” he protested. “If I could just eat the sword, then I could win the whole fight easy-peasy!”

 “Which is precisely why I don’t want you doing that.”

 “Buh-”

 Meta Knight held a hand up to interrupt him, which only caused Kirby to pout further. “You have succeeded where many have failed, and I will grant you that. But if you don’t want to be treated like a demon beast, you need to learn proper swordplay.”

 “Buh Medda Knigh’!!” And now Kirby was sad. Meta Knight sighed again, not particularly liking the direction that this conversation was taking.

 “Start from the beginning.”

 They repeated the exercise again, this time with the decisive victory going to Meta Knight. Kirby was distracted now, and not even the stinging bruises he was quickly accruing seemed to be motivating him. It was useless to try to teach him like this, so begrudgingly Meta Knight was forced to call for a break.

 “Fine. We’ll be done for now.” Kirby slowly got to his feet, wincing and rubbing his cheek where a particularly large bruise was already darkening. Meta Knight waited patiently for him to half-walk, half-limp over so that they could walk back at the same pace. “I can make those sandwiches that you really like.”

 Kirby looked up, surprised. “R-really?” As Meta Knight nodded, Kirby brightened considerably, forgetting his soreness as he hurried his way over. Kirby was definitely growing up, but he was still Kirby: And the number one way to motivate Kirby was with food.

 “Can we maybe have a cake, Medda Knigh’-poyo?” Kirby danced around him cheerfully as they made their way back to the castle.

 “I don’t know about that. Cakes take time.”

 “Then can we have ice cream?”

 “We’ll see.”

 Within a few minutes of walking, though, Kirby was starting to yawn. As they made their way through an ungrazed field, Kirby plopped down and went to sleep. Meta Knight only paused briefly to pick him up, eyes glowing slightly pink as he carried him the rest of the way home.

 He remembered the manners training he’d given Kirby several years back. As a reward, Meta Knight had allowed Kirby to make his very own meal, and the results had been disastrous. Making sandwiches had seemed like a harmless enough exercise at the time, but...he really should have known better. Their dinner that night had been peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches filled with tomatoes, strawberries, and some hard candies stolen from Meta Knight’s private stash. This was what he now placed on the table, stacked high and awaiting Kirby’s awakening. Paradoxically, Kirby was both the best and worst apprentice that Meta Knight could have ever gotten. The potential was there, but training a creature like him came with some unique difficulties. He’d have to get back to that later.

 Kirby came over finally, rubbing his eyes and sitting down at the table. As Kirby started to place the first sandwich in his mouth, Meta Knight cleared his throat.

 “I’ve been wanting to talk about your progress.”

 Kirby’s head tilted slightly as he listened.

 “Or, more accurately,” Meta Knight continued, “your lack of progress. How many years have you been my apprentice now?”

 Kirby looked away.

 “It has been two full years. You have been training as my apprentice for two years, and you’ve learned nothing. If it had been two months, I would merely be disappointed. But two years?”

 “Buh….but Medda Knight, I was really good when we first started doing Sword training!”

 “Because you had a Copy Ability. But when you have a Copy Ability, there’s nothing that I can teach you. We already found that out quite a while ago.”

 Kirby shoved another sandwich into his mouth and frowned.

 “But I do have an idea. If I cannot properly teach you....” At this he paused to reach a hand into his cape. “...then perhaps your ideal teacher is yourself!” He pulled out a handheld video camera with a flourish, setting it before them on the table.

 Kirby’s head tilted further in response.

 “With this, we can record you performing moves with your Sword Ability so that you can study them later. If you can successfully emulate a few of your own moves, then I’m confident that learning will become easier for you.”

 “So…” Kirby wiped his mouth clean of crumbs, remembering good manners. “I get to copy Sword again?”

“Precisely.”

 At this, Kirby’s face lit up like a million beams of sunshine. However, their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door, and soon followed by the ringing of a bell.

 “That’ll be the Mail Dee, Sir,” Sword Knight said. “Shall we get it?”

 Meta Knight nodded in reply, and presently a ruddy Waddle Dee carrying a bell and a mail sack stepped in. They sifted through their things, eventually pulling out a small letter and setting it on the table. They gave a courteous nod towards Sir Meta Knight and the others before rushing out the door again and down the hall. The return address on the envelope read Fumu, and the lettering was very neat and tight. Meta Knight quickly opened the letter and read aloud.

_Dear Meta Knight, Sword Knight, Blade Knight, and Kirby,_

_I hope this letter finds you all well! I’ve been hard at work at the university, as always, but the road to becoming a marine biologist can seem pretty tough sometimes. I suppose I shouldn’t complain, though- I’ve been doing very well in most of my classes! Finals are coming up next week, actually. My friends have been studying so hard that in the past few days, weve bearly gotten any sleep! Please don’t tell my parents._  
_But, speaking of parents! (Well, sort of…) I’m planning on coming back for a visit in two weeks! Cappy Town will be the first stop on my summer break trip! I hope this letter arrives in time to let you all prepare._  
_How’s Kirby been doing? Tell him that as soon as I get to the castle, I’m going to give him a great big hug! You miss not having your own little bodyguard around after a while, you know? Serena’s especially jealous that she can’t come this time to meet him! I promised her that I’d take a lot of pictures of everybody while I’m home, though, so don’t get mad if I bring my camera with me to your room, alright?_  
_I’d better wrap things up. I told myself that I would go to sleep an hour ago. When I come for the visit, I’ll be arriving by bus!_

 

_Can’t wait to see everybody again!  
Fumu_

 

“Hmm.” Meta Knight stood still for several moments after finishing, holding the letter open in one hand while his eyes shimmered a bright green. “Kirby, I have an interesting proposition for you.”

 “Poyo?” Kirby’s head tilted in utter confusion and curiosity.

 “By the date written on this letter, Fumu should arrive in a little over a week. It’s not much time, but…” He set the letter down on the table finally, and wrapped himself in his cloak. His eyes glowed green again briefly before he continued. “If we started this training immediately, and we are able to make progress with it, you could have a new move down by the time she arrives.” He threw out an arm from his cape, causing it to swish out beautifully. “We’ll get started immediately. Finish your food, and then we’re going back to Kabu’s Valley to train.”

Kirby nodded, shoved all the rest of the sandwiches into his mouth at once, and bounded out the door. Meta Knight followed behind, taking a leisurely pace as he watched his eager apprentice fade into the distance.


End file.
